Built-up front member or section for automobile bodies



April 26, 1932. c. H. WlDMAN BUILT-UP FRONT MEMBER OR SECTION FOR AUTOMOBILE BODIES Filed May 18, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR Char es )4z'ama2n BY M, M

j M M, I

A QRNEYS' April 26, 1932.

C. H. WIDMAN BUILT-UP FRONT MEMBER OR SECTION FOR AUTOMOBILEBODIES 2 SheetS- -Sheet 2 Filed May 18, 1931 Patented Apr. 26, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES H. WIDMAN', OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIG1\TOR TO THE MURRAY CORPORA- TION OF AMERICA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE BUILT-U]? FRONT MEMBER 03 SECTION FOR AUTOMOBILE BODIES Application filed May 18, 1931. Serial No. 538,168.

This invention relates to automobile body construction. The principal object of the invention is to provide a front section of novel construction including the forward roof supporting pillars and windshield frame, for a closed automobile body which eliminates substantially all of the skeleton framing members heretofore used in such construction and utilizes only the material E of the finish panels, which are so shaped and porting pillarof the body are entirely formed from the same sheet of metal and constitute a single stamping.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction wherein each side panel a; member of the cowl integrally embodies the forward door post and roof supporting pillar which extends upwardly to the roof of the body and forms one side of the framing and support for the windshield and which is made '1; up of a single stamping, and wherein the top panel of the cowl section embodies the instrument panel as well as the top cover panel of the cowl, and which is made up of a single stamping and'joined along its edges to Q the edges of the side panel members of the cowl. the whole constituting the entire cowl, the forward door posts and roof supporting pillars and the windshield frame of the body and comprising three main stampings of :LJ similar gaugemetal.

With these and other objects in View, my invention consists in the combinatiom construction and formation of the parts shown in the accompanying drawings, described in the accompanying specification and claimed in the appended claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the forward end of an automobile body embodying my invention. V

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the side members of my front-section and the central combined cover and instrument panel, disposed in slightly spaced relation to illustrate the assembly of the separate parts. 7

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is-a sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 1. V

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 4.

Heretofore, it has been the practice in the construction of the front sections of closed automobile bodies to provide upstanding posts or pillars for the front corners of the passenger section of the body. These posts are fastened at their lower ends to the sills or underframing of the body and extend upwardly along the sides of the forward windshield opening in the body to the roof there of and form the front roof supports and door posts. Such framing members are usually of wood or of comparatively heavy gauge sheet metal and are suitably secured and braced relative to the sill members or underframing of the'bodv, to constitute a rigid skeleton framing. The paneling for the body is made of a comparatively light gauge sheet metal and is formed of stampings which are fitted around and secured to these framing elements and are presumably supported thereby. Usually also, a heavier gauge memand thefo'rward'edges ofthe-f-rontdoor open I ings in the body, integrallyin thesame-members that alsoform .thefimshpanels for the.

sides of the cowl section.

I also form a cowl side paneland aforward door post and roof pillar in one piece and join and .seeureitogether. 'the; zhVOCQWl'ISlilQS and" forward Cl'OOP'POSlZSCELILCl roof pillarszby' anotherasingle piece, which constitutes; the

top ior. :cover .sectionr for-the. cowl; andxem-ii bo d1es. :1n ltsel'filtlle crossz-frame' memberi whlch extends betweenthecowlxsrde: and forward door posts and Pillfil'iIILGIllbElSfllICtSG- cures and braces. them relative: to;:each .other formszlthentop' of thecowlfsection; andralso' embodies in the same single piece theinstrirmen-ts. panel,- wherein the. .varions'; indicators and motor control:.instrume1rtsmay be mounted, all; of" which 1; are i made from the sheet metal: paneling; ordinarily? used to a sheath th b dy; 7

In Fig. l, the numerals 10 and lldesignate:

thelib'ody sills, which: in; the view shown: are

of channel shaped metal butzwhichmay be ofmwooid: if; 'desired-Q The? numeral; 12. indicates the right cowl side member *which embodies: in E its :reaa' -verticali edge the forward door post and roof supportinggpilhir of the body which' isiextended upwardly to the roof of the body.

construction and formation with; thew-Cowl side member 12. The .numerablt indicatesthe" central memberof the. assembly which constitutes the coverand (cross frame: membenfor: the cowl section.- The dotted lines in I Fig. 1 a-lon-geaclrside of the member 14in di cate the lines whichithe -centr-al member. l i'isifjoined to-=the-side members-12 and 13', preferably, by butt welding. All. members 12,113.:and l t-are formed of sheet. metal of the-gauge ordinarily used for. automobile body sheath-inguor panelingsand they r are formed by stamping Referring nowto Fig.2 6, it. willbe noted thatrthe' side member 13" is provided at its rearr'edge with a cha-nnelashaped flange whiclrextends inwardly and then forwardly relative to the maj oraxisof the body to constitute the-lowerportion of the door post and roof"supporting-pillar: Thelower edge of The numeral 13.-indicates :the. left cowl side member-which is-identicalin the member 13 as shown in Fig. 4. is provided with an inwardly extending flange 22 which extends beneath and may be secured to the under side of the sill 10. The flanges 2021 as shown in Fig. 6 are extended upwardly from the sill 10 to the roof of the body. The lower end of flange 20 is turned rearwardly to form a footing flange 23 which is secured to the top of the sill 10, and the lower end of the flange 21, as shown in Fig. 4 is turned inwardly, to formia footin flange 2% which isialsosecuredto'the top orthe silllQ.

An angle shaped bracing member 25 is provided as shown in Fig. 4, having one of its" sides secured preferablybyspot weldingto the inside of the lo-wer'portion of the flange 21 mid havingits other side resting upon and secured to the top of the sill'lO.

It. will. .be. apparent from the foregoing that the lower portion of the rear edge of the si'deanember. 13, andthis applies likewise to the-side member 12, is'formcd to pro'videthree sides of thebox sectionstructure which is characteristically a strong'corner, post constructioni Referring to Figs; 2 and 5, the construction and formation of theupper rear edge-portiOIrOftlle side member 13 becomes'apparent. The forwardly extendingupper edge; portion of thesidemember 13'isrounded and extends inwardly of-thebody as shown in Fig. 2; The

formation: of 'the rear. edge-portion of. the member 13 above the rounded upper edge of the, forwardly extendingtportion is. illustrated in the cross section of the correspondingv part of theside-inember 12 shown'inrFig. 5. The rear. outer cornerofthe-panel is bent to prov-Ede an inset rabbet 26, which extends. the full length of the'post from the roof to the sill of thebody, forms a countersunk nestfor the overlapping flange on theforward edge of thedoor 15 and increases the strength of the post. From this rabbet-the metal is extended forwardly and then turned inwardly at. 27, then-rearwardly at. 28, then inwardly again atz29 to form a rabbetfor receiving the side edge of the windshield 16. The metal is then turnedrearwardly at 30 and underlaps and is securedto theflange. 21, thus forming aclosedbox sectionstructure along the side 11;;

of thewindshield openingand also providing arabbet for receiving the-side edges of. the windshield and its frame, which can be mounted tolswing outwardly and forwardly or. to slide vertically, asdesired.

The flange 20 at its upper end may be extended rearwardlyto provide a horizontal flange 31,.and the flange 21 may be extended atv its. upper end to provide an inwardly extending flange 32 upon which may be secured, by'welding or other suitable means, a triangular bracket 33 for supporting the roof rail and windshield header members of the body. Atthe lower cornersof the windshield supporting rabbets of theside members 12 and 13, as shown in Fig. 2, the lower ends of the flanges 28 are bent inwardly toward the major axis of the body and the lower ends of the flanges 29 are bent forwardly to overlie the inwardly bent portions of the flanges 28 and they may besecured together by spot welding or other suitable means. This forms a shelf at the lower end of the rabbet the function of which will be hereinafter explained.

The central member 14 is as before stated formed as a stamping from a single piece of sheet metal, its rear edge, as shown in Fig. 2, is provided with a forwardly presenting rabbet 40, which receives the lower edge of the windshield frame and provides an abutment and stop therefor. The metal of the panel is then extended rearwardly and downwardly to form depending instrument panel d1 which is positioned interiorly of the body the body end faces the front seat just below the. windshield opening. The lower edge of the instrument panel portion 41 is flanged forwardly at 42 to provide a finished appearance and the ends are flanged forwardly at 13, and these flanges l3 mate with and are.secured to the forwardly extending flanges 21 provided on the rear inner edges of the mem bers 12 and 13, as shown more clearly in Figs. l and 6. The flanges 43 on the instrument panel are offset inwardly from the forwardly extending side edges of the member 14, as shown in Fig. 2, and these projecting corners of the member 14 rest upon the shelves formed by the horizontally turned lower ends of the flanges 28 and 29 and are secured thereto by welding or other suitable means. The side edges of the member 14 are secured preferably by butt welding to the upper inwardly presented edges of the forwardly extending portions of the members 12 and 13. The members 12, 13 and 14 are each formed of a single metal stamping of the sheet metal normally used to form the paneling or sheathing for bodies. They may be rapidly and economical-. 1y formed, especially in large production. The three parts may be very easily assembled and secured together to form a unit which may be applied to the sills or underframing of the body. If desired, a sheet metal dash panel 50 is illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, may be formed and attached by welding or other suitable means to the forward ends of the side members 12 and 13 and the central member 14-, thus providing a complete unitary forward section for the body.

As shown in Fig. 5 the hinges 60 for the forward doors may be secured to the posts by securing one wing to a reinforcing plate 61 positioned against theinner side of the flange 20 of the post.

I have by m construction succeeded in eliminating the necessity for separate sleleton framing members and the consequent material and labor costs attendant upon their use and l have also by the elimination of these skeleton framing members reduced the total weight of the body to a material extent.

Formal changes may be made in the specific embodiment of the invention described without departing from the spirit and substance of the broad invention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A front section for a closed vehicle body consisting entirely of sheet metal stampings and comprising a pair of side cowl members each forming a side of the cowl section and each formed of a single stamping, therear vertical ed e portion of each of said side cowl members being bent to form a forward door post and roof supporting pillar of hollow box cross section, each of said posts being entirely closed above the forwardly extending portion of the side member and having its opposite edges secured together, and each being provided with a rabbet for receiving the sides of a windshield frame, a cross member forming the cowl cover member and comprising a single stamping extending between and secured to the upper edges of the forwardly extending portions of the side members and provided with a depending rear portion extending downwardly between and secured at its side edges to the posts of said side members.

2. A front section for a closed vehicle body consisting entirely of sheet metal stampings and comprising a pair of side cowl members each forming a side of the cowl section and each formed of a single stamping, the rear vertical edge portion of each of said side cowl members being bent to form a forward door post and roof supporting pillar of hollow box cross section, each of said posts being entirely closed above the forwardly extending portion of the side member and having its opposite edges secured together, and each being provided with a rabbet for receiving the sides of a windshield frame, a cross member forming the cowl cover member comprising a single stamping extending between and secured to the top edges of the forwardly extending portions of the side members and provided at its rear portion with a forwardly presenting rabbet extending between the lower ends of the windshield receiving rabbets in the posts and also with a depending portion extending downwardly between and secured at its side edges to the posts of said side members and forming an instrument panel.

3. A front section for a closed vehicle body consisting entirely of sheet metal stampings and comprising a pair of side cowl members each forming a side of the cowl section and each formed of a single stamping, the rear vertical edge portion of each of said side cowl members being bent to form a forward door post of hollow boX cross section, each of said posts being entirely closed above the its forwardly eirtendingportion of the side member andhaving its opposite edges secured together, and eachbeing provided along its forward inner corner with a windshield're- & ceiv-ing rabbet, and each being provided along" its rearouter corner with a door receivingrabbet, a cross memberforming the cowlcover member and comprising a single stamping extending between and secured to the upper edges of the forwardly extending portions of the side members.

4-.- A front section for a closed vehicle body consistingentirely of sheet metal stampings and comprising a pair of side cowl members each forming a side ofthe cowl section and ea chformed of a single stamping, the-rear vertical'edge portion of eachof said side cowl members being bent-to form a forward doorpost ofhollow box cross section, each of said posts being entirely closed above the forwardly extending portion of the side member and having its opposite edges secured together, and each being provided along its forward inner corner with an inset forwardly presenting windshield receiving rabbet with the lower ends of the flanges forming said-rabbiet turned horizontally and'secured in super-imposed relation to one another, a cross member forming the cowl cover mem- SQ ber and comprising a single stamping extending between and secured to the upper edges of the forwardly, extending portions of the side members, the rear side portions of said cover member being formed with corners which rest upon and are secured to the horizontally disposed ends of the windshield rabbet flanges of the corner post portions of said side cowl members.

A front section for a closed vehicle body consisting entirely of sheet metal stampings and comprising a pair of side cowl members each forming a side of the cowl section and each formed of a single stamping, the rear vertical edge portion of each of said side cowl members being bent to form a door post of hollow box cross section, each of said posts being entirely closed above theforwardly extending portion of the side member and havin its opposite edges secured together, a or oss member forming the cowl cover member and comprising a sin glestamping extending between and secured to the upper edges of the side members, the rear portion of said cover member being provided with a dependmg instrument panel portion fitting between the post portions of said side members and having laterally turned flanges at its ends mating with and secured to the inner side flanges of said post portions.

6. A front section for a closed vehicle body consisting entirely of sheet metal stampings and comprising a pair of side cowl members each forming a side of the cowl section and each formed of a single stamping, the rear vertlca-l edge portion of said side cowl mem- 

